


the fighter in you

by HogwartsToAlexandria



Series: Marie Ships it All Shorts 2020 [36]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, Pepper Potts Needs a Hug, Protective Tony Stark, past abusive relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:27:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24107476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HogwartsToAlexandria/pseuds/HogwartsToAlexandria
Summary: "Hey there, hey, Pep," Tony whispered, "Look at me honey, you can do it, I promise, just look at me, easy peezy."Pepperony Bingo Fill, O3: PTSD
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Series: Marie Ships it All Shorts 2020 [36]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1649596
Comments: 2
Kudos: 44
Collections: Pepperony Bingo 2020





	the fighter in you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ErjaStark](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErjaStark/gifts).



> Written at 4am with Erja yelling in my DMs haha, hope you still like it as much as you did then love. 
> 
> Betad by the irreplaceable Betheflame 💕

"Hey there, hey, Pep," Tony whispered, "Look at me honey, you can do it, I promise, just look at me, easy peezy." 

Pepper's breaths were still too short, too faint, but she did look up then and her eyes filled with tears she refused to shed. 

"Great, you're doing amazing. I'm sorry I raised my voice. The phone company is getting on my nerves and it's stupid, I agree, no reason to get mad over it. I will be more careful, ok? Can you squeeze my hands, show me how strong you are?"

It took a minute. A minute Tony spent humming gently still. Caressing the back of her hands with his thumbs, biting and licking his bottom lip as he tried to quiet his own heart and keep the guilt at bay. He hadn't meant to provoke this. He never wanted to scare her. He couldn't bear the mere thought of it. And yet he'd done it. He'd pushed her there. 

But he couldn't think about that right then. Couldn't be selfish and think about his own feelings when Pepper was grasping at straws to emerge from her panic. 

"There you are," Tony smiled when she gradually closed her fingers around his, until she gripped them almost painfully. "That's perfect, baby steps, you're doing amazing." 

Tony wanted to kiss her, wrap her in his arms and tuck her into bed with soft music and warmth all around her, inside her where the demons of her past lay. Instead, he kept their eye contact, and talked again. 

"You'll always be safe with me, baby, always."

A single tear, that's all Pepper let herself have. It was still something. Tony knew how much it cost her. He knew how much her thoughts were swirling in this moment, knew how much she hated feeling like this, knew how much he owed her to do better. 

He hated that phone company even more now, but that wasn't the point. 

The point was she was _trying_ to smile at him. It wasn't entirely a success, her cheeks didn't much follow her lips, and her eyes even less, but it was something too. 

"You're a fighter, and I'll always, always protect you. And when you tell me to shut up, because you're allowed to do that you know? And more than that, I need you to do it when I'm being a jerk, please baby, please tell me to shut up," Tony chuckled a little self-deprecatingly, happy to see the little twitch of amusement at the corner of Pepper's mouth, "I'll shut up."

"Shut up," she said weakly, her hands letting go of Tony's fingers to reach for his neck and face instead. 

He let her pull him closer, going from a crouching to a kneeling position in front of her, and then she put her head on his shoulder. He hesitated, not knowing if he should put his arms around her like he wanted to, so he kissed her hair instead. 

But then she asked, so it was ok. "Hold me, Tony."

It wasn't over. It probably never would be, they both knew it, Pepper's therapist had told them so a handful of times and her nightmares and reflexive flinches like she'd had just a moment before proved it well enough. But they had each other. Tony had her back, even when he was being stupid. 

He breathed in the vanilla scent of her hair, raked his knuckles down the bumps of her spine, still wishing there'd be more fat to cover her body there, but that would come to, he was working on _that_. 

Hand in hand, they'd do it. 

"I love you," he said, and it sounded almost like a plea, even to his own ears. 

The fact that Pepper's first answer was almost a sob both broke his heart and mended it, when the next thing she did was tighten her own arms around his midsection and nod to signify she knew. 

"Thank you," she said, her voice stealing all of his breath as it said so much more than those two simple enough words. And they would keep building on that. Always.


End file.
